The procedure for birthing a child has been dramatically changed with the advent of birthing clinics. Pregnancy studies have determined that pregnant women, in normal health, need not and should not be prohibited from physical exercise. Proper exercise will enhance the delivery process, making the term of pregnancy, the birthing process, and the recovery period far easier for the new mother. Not to be discounted in this recent development, is the rapid accelleration of medical costs. It is this combination of events, i.e. the birthing studies and the hospital/doctor expenses, that have largely encouraged the emergence of the birthing clinics.
A birthing clinic can take many different forms. Typically such clinics promote natural child birth with a minimum of confinement. An expectant mother, ready to give birth, will check into the clinic, be assigned a bed and issued bed clothes. She is monitored by the clinic's staff but otherwise is free to roam the premises, visiting with relatives or other patients until "her time arrives". She is then ushered into a delivery room and assisted by a midwife. With a minimum of fuss and bother she is provided with sufficient bed rest and then released with her new baby to return home. All this will typically occur over a period of one or two days.
The casual atmosphere created in the birthing clinic has generated a desire for an appropriate birthing gown. An appropriate birthing gown will have a combination of features to satisfy comfortability, attractiveness, and birthing compatibility. An expectant mother is uncomfortable enough in the final days of her pregnancy and a loose but nice fitting garment is a must. Whereas the patient is exposed to the public in her bed clothes, she will want to avoid the feeling of being unattractive in the birthing gown anymore than she obviously feels as a result of her "bigness". A gown that looks nice on her is thus very important to the patient. Finally, as the concept of the birthing is intended to leave the patient to her own devices until the last minute, when that last minute arrives it is important that the birthing gown accommodate the birthing process.